State Legislative Priorities 2023 Through long legislative session, we look forward to working with the Governor and State Legislature
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CM is the voice of municipalities. And every year, we develop a legislative program that you, our members, developed, vetted and approved so that we can take that voice to the State Legislature and the Governor with the assurance of 168 towns and cities. We are proud to announce the 2023 Legislative Priorities that sets the foundation for work throughout this year’s long Legislative Session.
1. Increased Funding for Local Education ISSUE: The current mechanism to provide education funding does not meet the needs of Connecticut’s student population and is overly reliant on local property tax revenue. The cost for public education in our state is over $12.3 billion with local property taxpayers burdened with more than 50% of that amount. RECOMMENDATION: 1) Accelerate the phase-in of the Education Cost Sharing (ECS) Grant formula, and increase funding of other education programs; and 2) Increase funding for the Special Education Excess Cost Grant.
2. Address the Shortage of Paraprofessionals in School Districts ISSUE: Local school districts are having a difficult time hiring paraprofessionals because of the lack of a skilled and certified workforce due to retirements and attrition. RECOMMENDATION: Address the shortage of paraprofessionals by developing and funding an enhanced pathways program to increase the number of certified 8 | CONNECTICUT TOWN & CITY | FEBRUARY 2023
paraeducators and increase the number of potential teacher candidates in the pipeline through the mentorship of paraeducators.
3. Increase PILOT Reimbursement to Municipalities ISSUE: Property tax exemptions seriously erode the property tax base in many towns. Statewide, exemptions represent nearly 12 percent of the aggregated Equalized Net Grand Lists (ENGL). But this statistic seriously understates the issue for some communities. In 11 towns, exempt property, other than city-owned property, represents over 20 percent of the ENGL and in several the total is over 50 percent. While these are the most extreme cases, property tax exemptions affect every town in Connecticut, with the result that the taxes paid by non-exempt taxpayers are higher than they would be without the exemptions. RECOMMENDATION: Fund current Payment in Lieu of Taxes (PILOT) at statutorily adopted levels.
4. Legal Notices ISSUE: The requirement to publish full texts of certain documents and notices in newspapers is a costly mandate on towns and cities. During the Pandemic, the Governor issued an Executive Order allowing municipalities to publish meeting notices on their town’s website. While in effect, residents searched the town website for information on upcoming meetings and public hearings, which resulted in better attended meetings and greater public awareness and participation.